Take It Personally? Performance of Diverse Teams: The Interplay of Relationship and Task Conflict

Abstract

Combining social identity theory with an attribution theory perspective, we argue that task conflict can counteract the negative effects of relationship conflict on team performance in diverse groups. Particularly, we assume that in teams with high levels of task conflict, employees may attribute relationship conflicts to both interpersonal aspects and task characteristics. Under these circumstances, team members can still concentrate on task fulfillment. Contrary, in teams with low levels of task conflict, employees may assume that the only explanation for relationship conflicts is that individuals do not get along on a personal level. This inhibits team performance because employees focus on differences in the team rather than address task-related issues. We test our hypotheses in a sample of 57 organizational teams. 350 employees provided us with task and relationship conflicts ratings and their leaders assessed the team performance. Gender diversity was slightly negatively linked to team performance, and this relationship was mediated by relationship conflict. Task conflict was identified as a moderator, such that gender diversity had a particularly strong negative effect on team performance via relationship conflict when there was low task conflict. Our results suggest that scholars and practitioners should consider the interplay between task and relationship conflict when dealing with gender diversity.